


Post Mortem

by OreoLuvr13



Series: Family Ties Verse [9]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, J is a bad ass, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Episode s04e12 Ghosts, Post-Episode s04e12 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 03:02:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoLuvr13/pseuds/OreoLuvr13
Summary: Baz hates being left behind when the others are on a job, but that’s his life ever since the failed attempt on his life has left him with a pronounced limp. They should have been back hours ago and he hasn’t heard anything, something’s happened. He knows it. But nothing could have prepared him for just how bad things got. A Post-Ghosts fic in my “Family Ties” verse.





	Post Mortem

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, is all I have to say after that last episode.

Baz takes a sip of his beer and looks at his watch again. He should have heard something by now. What the hell is going on. Fuck. He hates having to sit at home while the guys go out on a job. But he has no other choice. Not after that failed hit on his life. He barely survived. After lingering in a come for ten days, he’s lucky that the only physical reminders of that night was some ugly scars and a limp.

He usually keeps his mind busy on job days either by doing things with Lena, or if he’s really desperate enough he goes over to Smurf’s. Today Lena’s at a friend’s house and Smurf is tagging along on the job. And there’s no way in hell he’s going over there to spend time either Angela.

Baz has had a bad feeling about this job from the beginning. Maybe it was the fact that Smurf was tagging along. It’s been years since she joined the boys on a job. Will the guys be on edge with her presence and fuck something up. It could also have been that Deran has been extra secretive lately. Or that Craig is a new father and new fathers barely sleep. Baz remembers the bone deep exhaustion from the sleepless nights when Lena was a baby. The last thing they needed was a sleep deprived Craig on a job. Then add in the growing tension between J and Pope. Any and all of these factors could be a recipe for disaster.

The phone barely rings twice before he answers it. “J?”

“Hey.”

“Everything, ok?”

“Need you to come to the house.” J sounds different. Detached like he’s not there. When a flashback hits.

“I’m fine. Lena’s not home, right?”

“Nah, she’s at Kara’s.”

“Good she shouldn’t be here.“

With J’s cryptic tone and his insistence that Lena shouldn’t come means that whatever the hell is going on has to be bad. “Okay. On my way.”

XXXXX

Baz wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting to see when he got to the house. A bloodied and injured Craig or Deran. An unhinged Pope. Or maybe a pissed off Smurf because the job went bad.

Smurf’s still, lifeless body lying on the work bench wasn’t one of them. Pope is the only one there staring at the body of his mother with vacant eyes. Dried blood on his ear. Jesus.

”Baz asks cautiously as he approaches. “What the hell happened?”

Pope says nothing as he continues his thousand yard stare.

“Pope? Damn it, Pope! Talk to me, what the fuck happened?!”

Pope remains quiet for another minute, Baz is about to ask again when Pope finally replies in a harsh tone, “Go ask your son.”

Knowing that he’s not going to get anything else out of his devastated brother, Baz turns and rushes towards the house as fast as his bad leg will let him, leaving Pope alone with his grief. He finds J sitting by the pool having a cigarette.

“J! What the fuck happened?” Baz starts and then stops. “Smurf...”

“She’s dead,” an eerily calm J says.

Baz lets out a grunt. “No shit, I just saw her body. What the hell happened?”

“I shot her,” J says calmly. Like he’s telling someone the weather. Not relaying the fact that he just killed his grandmother. Fuck. What the hell happened to his kid. Where’s the shy kid who showed up at the house after Julia died with nowhere else to go. When he talked in two word increments, too afraid to be a bother. Calling Deran Uncle Deran.

He never realized how deep Smurf got her claws into J. He should have seen it. The day after a shaky and blood covered J showed up at his place, j was able to turn a switch and quickly change into brother mode. Taking Lena surfing mere hours after putting a bullet in Mia’s Head. He should have insisted on moving in with him and Lena after everything that happened with Damien. But J insisted that he was fine at Smurf’s. That he didn’t want to disrupt Lena and Baz’ life any more than he already did.

Instead of letting it be, Baz should have pushed. He knows what Smurf Cody’s house of horrors can do. Saw it with his own eyes.

But it’s too late for that now. What’s done is done.

He rubs the bridge of his nose. “You’re going to have to do better than that kid. What exactly happened?”

J inhales the smoke from his cigarette. “We thought it was just a job but to Smurf it was a suicide mission. She wanted to die.”

"What…how?”

"Smurf got shot and Pope saved her. She was pissed that he did. She took Deran’s gun, Pope got Craig’s. She was begging him to shoot her. When he couldn’t, she shot him. Grazed him.”

Baz nods as he takes in J’s story. The blood on Pope’s ear, that was because of Smurf.

“Pope couldn’t do it. So I did,” J says.

Jesus. J saved them all. If he didn’t do what he did, who knows what Smurf would have done. She took a hit out on him, for God’s shake and he was her son. Baz wouldn’t have put it pass her to have them all killed.

But he’s pretty’s sure that Pope will see it differently. And based on the rising tension between the nephew and uncle recently and with J’s revelation, Pope would no doubt blame J.

Even in death, Smurf is still fucking with her oldest’s head. 

With the heaviness of what happened, Baz doubts they were thinking clearly. “Any lose ends?”

J takes another drag from his cigarette. “Pope was a bit of s mess. Left his truck there.”

“Fuck!” Baz exclaims as he begins to pace.

“Too late to do anything about it now. I have that doctor coming over. He’s gonna sign off on the death certificate. Say Smurf died from the cancer.”

Damn the kid is good.

“When is the doctor coming?”

“Should be here in a few hours.”

Baz nods. “After he does his thing, you’re going to pack a bag and stay at my place for awhile. Those guys are going to come here soon looking for you guys. They don’t know about me. You’ll be safe there.”

“I don’t know. There’s some stuff I gotta do.”

“You can do it at my place.” Where Baz can keep an eye on him. He doesn’t trust Pope to look after himself and he’s pretty damn sure that Pope won’t protect J right now after all that has happened. Not when the pain of losing Smurf is so new and raw.

“Besides, Lena’s been bitching at me that she hasn’t seen you in a while,” Baz squeezes J’ shoulder to let him know he’s there for him. Yes, that was not always the case. Not when J was growing up and not when he had no choice but to shoot Smurf, but Baz is here now. J agrees to pack a hag and they head back into the house.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I might be a little premature here, but I’m thinking of doing a second chapter that will take place after the season finale. What do you guys think?


End file.
